Phoebe Vermillion vs Akane Saito

Akane hummed softly to herself in the locker room, making the last-minute preparations before she had to be on call for her match tonight. It had been a rough start to her career here, being handed loss after loss. Initially, most of the women in the back had been pretty terrible to her with taunts and pranks. The bullying had been disheartening. After her one incredible upset victory over Origa though, people had warmed to her a bit. There was still the teasing from time to time, but most people she met had been rather supportive of her attempts at getting better despite her efforts not paying off just yet. She never really researched her opponents, so she was unsure of what tonight held for her. What she did know though was she was going to go out there and give her solid best, and make sure to have fun regardless of how it panned out.

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Theme:

Akane:

Pushing through the curtain she jogged out onto the stage, holding her arms up to some decent fanfare from the crowd. While in no way a headliner for AFW, she was surprisingly popular. Some liked her spirit, others her look, and the last sort had formed a fandom around her defeats. A few signs spread around the crowd showcasing photos of her in various states of defeat be it by pinfall or submission. A particularly bold sign read. “Let me pin you tonight Akane!” which caught a blush from the young wrestler when she happened to notice it. To her, this was the oddest thing, to have so much attention without the record to warrant it. In some ways, she felt almost blessed to have so much support.

She made her way down the ramp, giving small nods of acknowledgment as she went and the occasional wave until she made it ringside. Pulling herself up onto the apron with the bottom rope, she rolled into the ring and popped up to get feet with a spring in her step. She regarded Phoebe with a small smile, clasping her hands in front of herself to give her opponent a respectful bow. "I will be your opponent tonight, lets give it our best."

Phoebe would be weighed down by a wave of guilt, feeling sympathy for her opponent. She immediately noticed how the crowd treated her, and looked on in subtle disgust. You'd have to be right in front of her to even notice, but she sneered a bit—surprisingly for the first time ever. The blonde sweetheart could see it; that they were one and the same, both jobbers that needed a win badly. It caused her to lower her guard slightly. It made her contemplate how much she needed this win. All her life, she never intended to be a wrestler, she just needed the money for college, but it seemed like Akane actually wanted to wrestle. At least, she was more made for the ring than she was. Phoebe thought that maybe she could go easy on her, but not before she shut down the crowd, uncharacteristically. For once, she broke character, walking over to the announcer, and asking for his microphone. At the soft utter of approval, she snatched the device, and violently placed it up to her lips, her opponent having only just climbed into the ring.
"Hey! All of you! Stop it right now! She's trying her best, and you're making fun of her?! She's not anyone play-toy! She's a real person with feelings, so in other words... F-f-fuck off!"
The kind-hearted wrestler could barely even force out a curse word, her legs trembling with fear of what the audience would think. However, she just had to do it. It wasn't fair to her opponent, and she knew if she wanted to force change, she'd have to take a note out of Yona's book. The entire stadium went quiet, the people surprised that the blonde jobber even had the balls to defend someone, when she wasn't any better. Both were merely pretty little dolls, made to fight for their amusement, and they made that be known to them, a vocal majority clowning on both girls.
Phoebe shrugged, extending a hand to Akane, and smiling back at her. It was fairly obvious that she put up a front that she didn't care, but her hands had gone cold, covered in a layer of sweat. She was absolutely terrified, and putting all that attention on her certainly didn't help with her anxiety, but the horsemen clung to her gentle ways, hoping that she could, at the very least, make a new friend. After all, the two were both in the same boat, and Phoebe certainly needed to expand her friend group outside of Yona, Iris, and Hazel.
However, all of a sudden, her opponent bowed. Phoebe's face churned a harsh red, flustered that she'd still respect her after her act of pure emotion. She didn't know if she should bow too, but out of respect, she followed suit, just to be on the safe side. She honestly wanted to mention that Akane didn't need to be so modest towards her, but she was slowly but surely being stricken with fear. Her feelings had put her in a position where she didn't want to fuck over her opponent, but also didn't want to have her career drown to the lowest lows in the industry. Even so, she extended her hand again, hoping Akane would notice this time. It was practically her own way of showing respect before the bell rang; which it did, even before she tried to go for a handshake.

Akane tilted her head when her opponent turned away from her to head to the announcer, watching the other woman grab a microphone. She had expected Phoebe to direct some trash talk her way or declare how she was going to win to the whole arena, those sorts of things were normal. When she started addressing the crowd though she was just as shocked at them, left blinking and a bit confused by the passionate defense of her humanity by a stranger. Akane lowered her head slightly, eyes glancing off to the side as she hid her blushing face behind tucking some hair behind an ear. It was slightly embarrassing to have all of this aired so openly but she couldn't deny the sentiment was incredibly touching.

When Phoebe finished, the crowd had turned. The celebration had been dragged out back and shot by the dose of accountability she had presented to them and they didn't seem happy by it. Cheers had turned to jeers and boos by people who hadn’t paid money to be lectured by wrestlers tonight.

When Phoebe offered her hand, the bell sounded signifying the start of the match. It seemed as though with the turning crowd they wanted to get the match rolling and fast. While Akane had been burned before with cheaters and downright terrible competitors, it hadn’t soured her desire to adhere to good sportsmanship herself. She stepped up to Phoebe and took her hand giving it a shake. Before they could separate though, she moved her other hand in to hold Phoebe’s and leaned in to whisper.

“You didn't need to do that you know… but thank you.” The young wrestler would give the blond a small modest smile with a hint of red still flushed on her cheeks. She gave their hands one last shake before attempting to release Phoebe’s hands and take a few steps back to start them off properly. She raised her hands, bracing her legs with a spread stance in a silent offer for them to have a traditional lock-up once the blond was ready to get things started.

Akane had approached her to whisper in her ear; Phoebe felt proud that she had picked her morality over getting a good cheap shot, but now it was time to fight. Both girls had been blushing; somewhat expected from putting two timid wrestlers in the ring together. As a matter of fact, it would be pretty odd if they didn't get a little insecure in such a public space. The only difference was that Akane was ready to fight, while Phoebe stood there, pondering all the possible ways she could fumble a potential win. It didn't make it much easier that she may have grown a liking to the underdog in this match.
Her movements became robotic, the blonde hesitantly marching over to the center of the ring to meet hands with her opponent. It was clear from the start, that Phoebe wasn't fully in the fight yet, a lack of pressure in their challenge of strength. Phoebe easily got shoved back. It was only when she reached the ropes, that she snapped out of her trance, gritting her teeth as she tried to push Akane back.
She wasn't all too strong, but at the very least, she felt that her stance and positioning was far more stern and stiff than her opponents. It helped her make some strides as she managed to shoved her to the opposite side of the ring. She was still indecisive on if she should go all out, or let herself be a stepping stone for Akane's career, so she treaded the match carefully, primarily staying on the defensive, even though she managed to get her opponent in the perfect position for a quick jab.

There was something off about Phoebe as the woman stepped up to her. Their hands met, fingers entwined and they were good to go! Akane stepped forward, putting her weight into a grapple. She looked surprised at just how easily she was able to push forward, the blond barely putting up a fight. She eased back, giving them a bit of play between the both of them. It didn't seem right to take advantage of the moment while the blond didn't seem fully there at the moment.

Once Phoebe stirred to life again and pushed back, Akane poured her effort back in to make the contest a worthwhile one for the two of them. Rather than walking her back though, Phoebe gave her a shove, one that broke them apart and had Akane taking a stumbled step back at the unexpected difference in their strength. Before she had a moment to recover her footing her head snapped back from a sharp jab from the blond that caused her to stagger to the side. She caught herself before falling, shooting back in the direction of her opponent. She sprang from the canvas, thrusting her legs out in front of her to try and smash Phoebe in the chest with a dropkick.

Phoebe had instinctually thrown a punch at her, having not meant to actually damage her. She'd rather stay on the defensive if it made it easier for her opponent, but it didn't seem all too necessary for long—Akane made a quick recovery, kicking Phoebe in the chest with a a dropkick with a good amount of force behind it. The blonde couldn't stop herself from stumbling backwards, her head colliding onto the canvas. She groaned loudly, holding the back of her head, the blonde heroine looking up at her adversary, rather weak and defenseless. It was pathetic, but she wasn't giving her all in the match. It just wasn't her to hurt someone that was in a worst situation than she was. Phoebe would rather be beaten silly than humiliate such a sweet person on live television. It was a huge blow to her fans, who were awaiting her to show her stuff, but were only met with apathy and a purely one-sided bout. It was a shameful look for her, Phoebe laying on her knees, a hand over her breasts.
She came into this match wanting to win, and kick ass, but she didn't know if she had it in her to be as cruel as her teammates. Unlike them, she actually stopped to sympathize with her opponents; she even dared to help them in cases like this. She absolutely hated how Akane was treated, and would rather Phoebe take the embarrassment. However, that's when she heard a woman shout out from the distance. She turned her head to the side, her fellow horsemen watching from the opposite side of the barricades.
"Kick her ass, Phoebe!" Yona and Iris both yelled together; the harlot, grabbing Hazel by the ear and forcing her to join them, as they chanted it together.
She was a bit embarrassed, but also happy to see them all together again. They've all been so distant lately, so it was just what she needed to motivate herself—not to fight her opponent, but to not just lay down and give up. She stood tall, but stayed frozen, not sure what to do from there. She hated that she was so good-natured, when it was so easy for her friends to take the opportunity in front of them. Overwhelmed: She shed a few tears, hiding her face into her hands, not sure if her heart was in the right place. Especially when faced with a hard dilemma, while her crush watched her struggle.

Akane hit the mat with a light thud along her back following her dropkick, quickly scrambling back to her feet. It had been a solid hit, one that sent Phoebe to the mat. She moved nimbly, circling her opponent to come up beside her. Reaching down, she grabbed at her shoulder and the back of her neck, trying to haul her up to her feet. Before she could launch into another move, she noted how unresponsive the blond was as if she wasn't even fighting back anymore.

Akane clamped them into a shoulder and elbow tie-up, doing her best to pretend as if the two of them were struggling against one another by her own efforts to try and keep the crowd entertained. All the while she didn't try to attack further, instead masking a conversation with the pretend struggle for control. “Are you hurt, should we have the referee stop the match? I didn't think I kicked you that hard”

There was genuine concern in her voice as she burdened herself trying to make it look like they were still actively fighting. The crowd had already proven just how fickle they could be and if they didn't even get a match after all of this she wasn't sure what she would do.

"I don't know if I can do this; you seem like such a nice person. I can't do this," Phoebe whined to her opponent, her head falling on Akane's chest. She didn't care much for the match anymore; she just wanted to help Akane out and let have the win. Even despite her friends cheering her on, she just couldn't break her moral code. As a child, her father had always taught her to do right by others and sacrifice for those that had less than her. He had passed away years earlier, but his spirit still dwelled within her.
She could tell from the earlier attacks, Akane wasn't all that strong either. Actually, she was far weaker than everyone she's faced so far, and yet, she wouldn't take advantage of the opportunity. Phoebe felt that, if she actually tried, she could easily overpower her opponent, but she held back, letting herself be shoved back onto the canvas once again. By then, the audience was beginning to get feisty, upset that the blonde heroine wouldn't show her true skills in the ring. After all, she may have lost her last few matches, but she showed a great understanding of traditional moves and attacks that made her a great fit for a "face."
She was passionate enough about her occupation to learn everything and hone it to perfection, but in all reality, she could have done that for any other job. Phoebe was a dedicated woman, that would do her best to study every little detail she could in order to put her all into what she was doing. In a way, her performance in this match was completely disrespectful to herself in one way, but true to her in another.
She did eventually try to get back up, brought back to her senses by her friend's unwavering encouragement. Of course, she could barely focus with Yona watching her; the girl being the entire reason for her even trying so hard with the league. She loved her, and wanted to impress her, but if she did that, she'd have to hurt Akane. Perhaps, she thought too much about her opponent and what would happen to her if she lost, but Phoebe was in that same position as well, and she wouldn't want to be treated with such disrespect that her fans gave her.

When Phoebe limply leaned into Akane, the pink-haired girl suddenly threw an arm around the blonde’s head, pulling her into a side headlock. The crowd roared with a cheer as Akane seemingly took charge of the match. Phoebe, however, would find no pressure was being applied to the hold, Akane continued to make it look like they were fighting, pretending to crank the submission with relatively light squeezes.

“What do you mean?” Akane hunched down, trying to make sure the two of them whispering over the ambient crowd noise couldn’t be heard. She was visibly confused by this whole scenario, never having seen one of her opponents break down like this. “Just breathe…”

Akane, pulled on Phoebe, hoping the other girl would take the hint to walk with her as she started to drag her towards one of the corners, determined to preserve the integrity of the match and their reputations as wrestlers to the watching audience. “I am pretty nice, I think… but we’re just wrestling. You don’t have to hate me for us to wrestle…”

Akane reached down to try and grab one of Phoebe’s arms, loosening the headlock even more. “I am going to throw you into the turnbuckle now okay, I need you to grapple with me again so we can keep talking.” She waited a moment, hoping the blond was ready before releasing the hold and attempting to Irish whip her fellow rookie towards the corner, following close behind as if she were going to follow up.